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“Do you think that either of them, like…know?” Mari asks one night, the whisper only barely loud enough to be heard over the crackling of the fire.
“No way,” Van says at the same time that Nat says, “Definitely.”
Mari rolls her eyes. “Gee, thanks. That’s helpful.”
Tai shushes them. Jackie’s already passed out, exhausted from doing the same chores as everybody else, ugh, and Shauna’s up in the attic doing whatever the fuck it is she does up there, so the chance of either of them overhearing the team gossip about them isn’t exactly high, but whatever. If Tai wants to be responsible, it’s fine.
To Mari’s delight, she’s not the one to break the quiet after that. Lottie says, slow and considerate like she’s put a good bit of thought into it, “I think they both know that they want each other, but I don’t think they know the other one knows.”
“There’s no way Shauna knows Jackie wants to fuck her,” Van says. “She wouldn’t be so pissy if she did.”
“She’d definitely have brought it up in an argument before now,” Crystal says.
There’s a chorus of agreement at that, then another of shushing each other when it gets giggly enough that Shauna might come downstairs to glare at them for having fun. God, what a loser. Mari really can’t stand her. If she didn’t spend so much time bitching about Jackie only to stare balefully after her whenever she was more than a foot away, it’d be different, but as it stands…wow, it’s fucking annoying.
“I just don’t think Jackie has any idea she likes girls,” Van says. “She doesn’t act like she knows.”
“How would you know?” Misty says.
“Uh, I watch TV?” Van scoffs, cheeks a little pink with heat since she’s lying right next to the fire. “Besides, she’s dating Jeff.”
“Right,” Tai says, voice a little strained. “Jeff.”
“Jeff is nice,” Laura Lee says. Mari had been a little nervous when she first overheard and joined this little gossip circle, but she’s never been judgy about it, just…weird. She doesn’t really seem to get gossip. “He and his family come to church most Sundays.”
“Cool,” Mari says, not meaning it at all. “Do you think they ever made out at a sleepover to ‘practice’?”
“That’s not even that weird,” Melissa says.
“Really?” Misty asks, scandalized.
“Really?” Van says, intrigued.
Jackie rolls over in her sleep. They all go quiet for a long, tense moment until it becomes clear she’s just dreaming.
“You think she’s thinking about Shauna in the locker room?” Mari asks slyly.
“Gross!”
“No way.”
“Probably.”
“She’d be making way weirder noises if she was —”
“Gross!”
“Guys, shut up, Shauna’ll hear us!”
“Not if she’s also thinking about Jackie in the locker room.”
Misty laughs a little too loud at that, enough that Shauna does actually come downstairs and glare at them. It only makes everyone laugh harder.